SWEET BRIAR, Va. --- Special Olympics Virginia (SOVA) and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) are teaming up for a Volleyball Celebration on Sunday, Nov. 13 on the campus of Sweet Briar College.   The affiliation is part of a larger Division III initiative as voted by the representatives on the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at the NCAA Convention last January.  Several ODAC schools have already partnered with Special Olympics. Sunday’s event marks the first time all 13 ODAC schools are partnering with SOVA to host a regional event.

ODAC SAAC members in conjunction with Mollie Robertson, ODAC Assistant to the Commissioner and Director of Championships, and SOVA Piedmont Region Director, Matt Camire, designed the program of events.  Sweet Briar College President, Jo Ellen Parker, will give the welcome and opening remarks at 10:00 am in Upchurch Field House in the Fitness and Athletic Center.  Prior to the volleyball games, a Special Olympian will lead the Special Olympics Oath.

Following the opening ceremony, Special Olympians and SAAC members will team up and compete in two volleyball games and a skills session.  The celebration concludes with a luncheon and end-of-the-year banquet in the Robertson Recreation Lounge.  During this time Sweet Briar College SAAC president, Alexandra St. Pierre (’12/So. Hamilton, Mass.), will present each Special Olympian with a certificate.  Brad Bankston, ODAC commissioner, will give closing remarks.

Special Olympics Virginia serves more than 10,000 athletes through seven regional offices and 29 area programs.  SOVA is one of 52 U.S. programs, and part of a global movement that serves three million athletes in more than 180 countries.

Click to go to the Special Olympics Virginia website.

The ODAC’s coverage of the Commonwealth is just as expansive.  Twelve of the conference’s 13 full-time members span from the southwestern corner of the state up to Harrisonburg and across to Virginia Beach.  Shenandoah University will join as a full sport member in the 2012-13 academic year expanding the ODAC further north into Winchester.

This release is courtesy of the Sweet Briar College Sports Information Office.